Nasdaq Private Placement

Story Utilities

The second phase of Nasdaq's private placement of shares to select investors is proceeding on schedule.

The second phase will offer most of the remaining equity in the Nasdaq Stock Market to all NASD members, and certain Nasdaq-listed issuers, buy-side firms and organizations vested in the growth of the newly independent market. Completion of the second phase will leave the NASD with somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of Nasdaq ownership.

While all NASD member firms will be offered a chance to buy shares, an NASD spokesperson said, the board of governors selects which non-member investors get a prospectus. The goal is to assure investors are aligned with Nasdaq management's interest in success and growth.

The first phase of Nasdaq's private placement closed in June, raising more than $330 million by selling 40 percent of the market to over 2,800 investors. The 5,500-member NASD approved the restructuring by a vote of 3,423 to 652 in March and April.